Reeling preassembled parallel wire strands for bridges and other structural applications



REELING PREASSEMBLEUPARALLEL WIRE s1-BANDS RoR-w u BRIDGES ANDo'rHERs'rRucTuRAL j g APPLICATIONS' J i `-originamFiled\Aug.21, 1967*Raaf-nr n'. F/shf wALLAcaf. smc/r and cnn/aa. WEL ff United StatesPatent O 3,545,194 REELING PREASSEMBLED PARALLEL WIRE STRANDS FORBRIDGES AND OTHER STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS Robert W. Fish, South RussellVillage, Ohio, and Wallace F. Stack, Middletown Township, Bucks County,and Craig J. Welch, Ross Township, Allegheny County, Pa., assignors toUnited States Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Continuationof application Ser. No. 662,163, Aug. 21, 1967. This application May 22,1969, Ser. No. 828,438 Int. Cl. B65h 54/00, 59/10 U.S. Cl. 57-156 8Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Compact reeling of long lengths ofpreassembled parallel steel wire strands for suspension construction,such as suspension bridges and roofs, for example, is permitted byimparting a periodic pattern of alternate right-lay and left-lay twiststo the strands in preparation for reeling. This twisting gauged toassure that equal lengths of individual wires are put onto the reel inspite of the varying radii of the individual wire loops created by thereeling, while at the same time not being so severe in deformation as topreclude ready return of the wires of the strand to their originalparallel structure upon unreeling. Suitable seizings are employed aboutthe strands to improve their manageability during reeling.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 662,163,filed Aug. 21, 1967, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND oF THE IINVENTION The invention is particularly concernedwith provision of compact and orderly reeling of preassembled parallelsteel wire strand, with a view to its ready transportation from a pointof manufacture to its point of use, and to minimizing its diiculty ininstallation.

The strands under consideration are approximately of circular crosssection. Owing to the difference in radii between the inner and outerloops in the reeling process, compact reeling, in usual fashion, isprecluded by excess slack in those individual wire loops with theshorter radii.

This invention relates to suspension cables formed of parallel wirestrands, as distinguished from helical-wirestrand cables, for bridges,roofs and other structures. The invention relates, more particularly, toa method of reeling a strand of parallel wires andv is directed toimprovements which enable its being wound on a drum and removedtherefrom without kinking `or snarling of the individual wires in suchstrand. In a manner to be described, the improvements of this inventionwith respect to preventing kinking or snarling of the cable wires duringreeling are obtained by applying a twist to the strand which is reeledon a drum, the amount of angular twist being such that undesirable slackdoes not develop in individual wires during the reeling operation.

The basic problem involved in packaging a parallel wire strand on a reelfor transportation stems from the fact that the wires closest to thereel drum have a shorter path than the outer wires. For example, inreeling a parallel wire strand formed of 81 wires of .196 diameter on a`6 diameter drum, the inner wires develop about 13" of slack for eachwrap around the reelV drum. Unless formation of this slack can beprevented, it will build up into undesirable slack that may result intangles and kinks that would prevent winding more than a few wraps onthe reel without harmful eifect on the strand.

ICC

SUMMARY 0E THE INVENTION To achieve the objectives of relatively compactand orderly reeling of preassembled parallel steel wire strand, withoutoverstressing any of the wires therein, with minimized diiliculty oftransportation, and improved facility in strand installation, theinvention according to the preferred practice thereof encompasses theimparting of alternate hand, right-lay and left-lay twists, to thepreassembled parallel wire strand, to assure that equal lengths ofindividual wires of the strand are put onto the reel in spite of thevarying radii of the individual wire loops occasioned by reeling onconventional wire reels. These twists are of a somewhat supercialnature, in that, while they retain their form while the strand is inplace upon the reel, the deformation in twisting is not sufficientlysevere to preclude self cancelling action upon unreeling, which enablesthe strand to revert to its original parallel wire arrangement whenunreeled.

Seizings are applied at intervals along the strand to improvemanageability of the strand during reeling. The seizings are preferablyapplied after twisting, but may be applied before twisting if desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic` plan view of thestrand twisting device;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front elevation of one of the strand clamps, aswell as the Strand in twisted condition; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT These clamps ride on carriages 7having wheels 7a guided i by tracks 8. Motive power for positioning ofthe clamp carriages may be provided by motors 9, through couventionalmeans such as drums 9a and wire rope 9by connected therewith. The strand1s is reeled onto rotatably driven reel 10', preferably in conventionalfashion, such as employed for rope.

FIG. 3 schematically -depicts a rotating clamp 6r, with detailedrotating operating mechanism deleted.

In FIG. 4, clamp element y6r emphasizes a characteristic of all threeclamps 6, namely that of being capable of releasing the stand 1s atappropriate times during reeling.

All three clamps 6, as best shown in the case of the clamp l6r in FIG.3, engage and apply a clamping action to the peripheral surface of thestrand 1s which operates to hold the wires 1 therein in a tight bundle.

The particular arrangement of the supporting structure for the carriages7 and clamps 6 is not a part of the present invention.

In initial operation, a leader (not shown) is fed, from left to right,through closing head 5 and pre-positionel clamps 6a, 6r and 6b, andthence secured to drum 10, to be followed by strand 1s, which isclamped, preferably in accurately measured relationship, by clamps 6aand 6b. The carriage of clamp 6b is then locked adjacently to reel .10,against movement along tracks 8, to prevent any unreeling of the strand,while the carriages of clamps 6a and `6r remain free to move therealong.At this point the strand twisting operation is eifected by rotatingclamp 6r.

Conventional seizings 12, illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 3,preferably in the form of tightly wound wire wrapping, are applied atappropriate intervals along the twisted strand, prior to winding on thedrum 10, to secure the wires 1 in the strand 1s in a tight bundleagainst movement relative to each other and to obtain uniformity inreeling. The seizings 12 also contribute to the prevention of crossoversand kinks in the final unreeled strand.

After the strand has been twisted by rotation of clamp 6r, clamp 6b isreleased and reel 10 is rotated to take up the twisted strand, clamps 6rand 6a meanwhile preventing untwisting. Clamp 6r is released next whenit is moved to a position adjacent the clamp 6b and reel 10. Similarlyfollowing clamp 6a is released when it approaches the clamp 6r and thereel 10. At this point clamp 6b is operated to clamp and hold thestrands 1s, while the clamps 6r and 6a are returned to their initialpositions for clamping and twisting another section of strand, andreeling, in similar fashion.

Although the invention may be practiced without clamp 6b, its use ispreferred since it provides more accurate control of the length of wirebeing twisted by clamp 6r, and improved control of the twisting action.

Also, and while the use of the rotatable clamp 6r for twisting thestrand at a midpoint -between the clamps 6a and 6b produces a pair ofalternate hand twists in a single operation, clamp 6a may be omitted,and the desired twists obtained by alternately reversing the directionof the rotatable twist inducing member, as exemplified by rotatableclamp 6r.

As indicated above, the clamp 6r is rotatable, and since the clamps 6hold the wires 1 in the strand 1s in a tight bundle, it will be apparentthat rotation of the clamp 6r operates to rotate the strand 1s about itsaxis, so that the outer wires of the strand are twisted into a spiralpath about its central or inner wires. From this, it will be apparentthat the central wire in the strand 1s will be torqued when the strandis rotated by the clamp 6r but will remain in its original positionextending substantially along the axis of the strand 1s, while the wiresradially outwardly with respect to the central wire will be twisted intoa helical path about such central wire.

It should be emphasized that the twisting should not be sufficientlysevere as to form a permanent set in the wires, as this may affect thetensile strength of the wire and may even preclude self cancelling andreturn to proper parallel wire strand condition upon unreeling.

In an example involving 0.196 diameter steel bridge wire, with 81 wiresper strand, twisting was accomplished by rotation of the clamp 6r midwayof about 160 strand lengths between the clamps 6a and 6b, utilizingabout 5 rotations of the twisting element or clamp 6r per length.Seizings 12 were applied at about 5 intervals. A reel with about a `6diameter drum having about a 5 length, and provided with about 15"flange depth, will accommodate about 5000 or more of the aforementionedstrand.

With proper adjustments, individual wires in the strands mayconveniently vary in size and number, depending upon the use of thestrand.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the method of this inventionenables reeling of a preassembled parallel wire strand on a drum fortransportation to a site where it is to be unreeled and assembled into asuspension cable for a lbridge or other structural applications. Inaddition it will be noted this is accomplished without overstressing anyof the wires to an extent that will result in permanent set or damage toany of the wires in the strand, and without slack and consequent kinksor snarls that would otherwise interfere with orderly reeling andunreeling of the strand. Attention is particularly directed to the factthat the advantages of the invention in these respects are obtainedsimply and conveniently by winding the parallel wire strand on a drumwith a temporary twist therein which is sufiicient to prevent theformation of slack in any of the wires during reeling and whichdisappears with a self cancelling action when the strand is unreeled.This self cancelling or untwisting action is inherent in the preferredpractice of the invention as described above wherein successive sectionsof the strand are twisted in opposite directions. Although the preferredpractice of the invention is effected by twisting two successivesections simultaneously by rotating the strand at a point centrallylocated between the two clamps 6a and 6b, it will be understood, asindicated above, that twisting of the wire in this respect may bemodified. It will also be understood that other twisting procedures,which may perhaps not require twisting successive sections of the strandin opposite directions, may be used for the purposes of this inventionwith respect to reeling and unreeling parallel wire strand and arecontemplated. The above and other adaptations and modifications may bemade without departing from the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a method of reeling a suspension cable strand on a drum, saidstrand `being in the form of a bundle of a large number of parallel andaxially extending wires, the steps which comprise feeding said strandaxially to said drum, fastening said strand to said drum, applying aclamp about the perimeter of said strand at a point spaced axially fromsaid drum, rotating said drum and clamp relative to each other to rotatethe portion of said strand therebetween about its axis and twist theouter wires in said strand into a helical path about the central wirestherein, and winding said twisted portion of said strand on said drum,the twist imparted to said strand being retained during reeling on saiddrum, said twist being effective to eliminate the development of slackin the wires of said strand as it is wound on said drum, and to enablethe wires in said strand to untwist and revert to their said axiallyextending and parallel arrangement relative to each other upon unreelingfrom said drum.

2. The method defined in claim 1 characterized by moving said clamp withsaid strand in an axial direction toward said drum as said twistedstrand portion is wound thereon.

3. A method of reeling a suspension cable strand comprising a -bundle ofa large number of parallel and axially extending wires, which comprisesthe steps of feeding said strand axially to a drum, rotating said strandin advance of its movement to said drum to twist the outer wires in saidstrand into a helical path with respect to the central wires therein,said central wires extending centrally and axially with respect to saidhelically extending outer wires, and winding the strand on said drum,said twist being retained in the strand during reeling on said drum andbeing effective to eliminate the development of slack in the wires ofthe strand as it is wound on the drum, and to enable the wires in thesaid strand to revert to their said axially extending and parallelarrangement relative to each other upon unreeling from said drum.

4. The reeling method defined in claim 3 characterized by the step ofapplying seizings about said strand at spaced intervals along its lengthbefore it is fed to said drum.

5. The reeling 4method defined in claim 3 characterized by successivesections of said strand being twisted in opposite rotational directions.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the said rotation of said strand isaccomplished by rotating a rotatable strand clamp located between saiddrum and a remote nonrotatable clamp, moving said rotating andnon-rotatable clamps axially toward said drum with the strand uponreeling, and successively releasing said clamps from the strand whenadvanced to a position adjacent said drum.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein twisting of said strand is effected byrotating a clamp engaged with said strand at a point spaced axiallyalong its length with respect to said drum.

8. In a reel, the combination comprising a preassembled parallel wirestrand for use in structural support cables,

said strand comprising a bundle of a large number of parallel andaxially extending wires, and a drum on which said cable strand is wound,successive sections of said strand being rotated about its axis toprovide opposite hand twists therein, the inner wires in each of saidstrand `sections extending centrally with respect to the outer wirestherein and said outer wires extending in `a spiral path about saidinner wires, said opposite hand twists being respectively sufficient toprovide for said strand being wound on said drum without the developmentof slack in individual wires, said twists being insuicient to impartpermanent deformation to said wires to enable return of said strand toits initial parallel wire form upon unreeling.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Lenk. Lenk et a1. Cook. Henning.Menasoff.

STANLEY N. GILREATH, Primary Examiner 1 w. H. SCHROEDER, AssistantExaminer Disclaimer 3,545,194.-Robert W. Fish, South Russell Village,Ohio, and Wallace F.

Stack, Middletown Township, Bucks County, and Craig J. Weok,

Ross Township, Allegheny County, Pa. REELING PREASSEM- BLED PARALLELWIRE STRANDS FOR BRIDGES AND OTHER STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS. Patent datedDec. 8, 1970. Disclaimer filed Dec. 17, 1973, by the assignee, UnitedStates Steel Corporation.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 3, 4, 5 and 8 of said patent.

[Ojjio'ial Gazette February 12?, 1.974.]

